The Woman Hunter

This picture was released on September 19 1972 starring Barbara Eden as Dina Hunter, Robert Vaughn as Jerry Hunter and Stuart Whitman as Paul Carter. Dina Hunter and her husband are going on vacation to Mexico. While in Mexico, some international people get the idea that Dina has many jewels that are worth millions. Things start to happen to the point that Dina starts to get paranoid and to her disbelief that her husband doesn't believe her. I bought this movie because of Barbara Eden and I was somewhat disappointed. The Barbara Eden that was in this movie and the one that played the role of Jeanie where two different people. To me this movie also lacks action and drama. It was hard to stay interested in this picture that's why I'm giving this movie only 5 weasel stars.

If your main goal in life is to watch old films with LOTS of footage of the beautiful Barbara Eden wearing bikinis, fashionable clothes and traipsing about Mexico, then I have a film for you! One reviewer gave this very ordinary film a 10--mostly because this was what they were looking for in a movie! Clearly, this is among their favorite films! However, for most viewers this isn't really enough reason to recommend "The Woman Hunter"--an at best ordinary made for TV film from the 1970s. While Miss Eden IS radiant here, some of her other work of this period (such as the creepy made for TV film, "The Stranger Within") is much better.

Eden plays Dina Hunter--a super-rich heiress who is emotionally ill following a tragic accident. Not helping much is her husband, Jerry (Robert Vaughn)--a man who seems more interested in business than spending time with his sexy wife on a Mexico vacation. During this time, a stranger, Paul Carter (Stuart Whitman) obviously deliberately ingratiates himself with the family and soon Dina realizes this was no accident. What follows is mildly interesting at times, but too often it just seems very rushed and sloppy. Even the surprising twist at the end doesn't save the film because it's handled VERY poorly--ending with an impossibly well-aimed rock and an explosion that seems to come out of no where. All in all, the film had some decent ideas but comes off as very superficial and silly.

Stuart Whitman is stalking Barbara Eden. She's an heiress married to Robert Vaughan, and she's just gotten out of the hospital, so they take a vacation in Mexico, where Larry Storch tells stories at night, and Whitman is their next-door neighbor. He is a painter, so after meeting Eden (whose character is named Dina Hunter; the Hunter woman, get it) on the beach, and catching her in a bikini, he offers to paint her portrait. Then he 'runs into' Vaughan in town, and sticks himself in the middle of their lives. As Miss Eden grows more and more uneasy, Vaughan tries to remember where he's seen Whitman before. Well, the man's career was shrinking in prominence.

It's a TV movie of the 'cozy mystery' variety that now seems to run all the time on the Lifetime cable channel. Director Bernie Kowalski does a decent job with his highly professional cast and standard camerawork.It's nice to see Vaughan play a decent guy, and Miss Eden in a bikini. It looks like editor Melvin Shapiro had to leave the end to a couple of subplots on the cutting room floor.

When I grade a movie, I start at five and add or subtract the pros and cons from there. There are a couple of things which I like about this film: Its ability not to betray its ending, and its scenery (mother nature sure was kind to this spot in Mexico AND to Barbara Eden). But, in my opinion, it has more cons than pros: It shows a few too many times bare from the waist up, the character, "Paul"'s aging bod, and him recording his babblings of his encounters with the "Hunter" couple. (The latter is extensively written into the flow of the pic.) Is it also a BAD thing that there are so many shots of Miss Eden? Other impressions are of its excessive slow-movingness and, at times, echoy audio (especially during some indoor scenes). The basic story is of a wealthy couple, vacationing in Acapulco, being of interest to artist "Paul", of whom Mrs. Hunter becomes increasingly suspicious, after some initial sparks between the two. (She is tempted, no doubt, as a result of her husband mixing too much business with what was supposed to be post-wreck pleasure for her.) I wouldn't discourage anyone from spending time and/or a little money for THE WOMAN HUNTER. Maybe this person's negatives will be somebody else's positives.

Barbara Eden stars as a woman named "Dina Hunter" who has just inherited a fortune due to the death of her father. Because she was accidentally involved in the death, her husband "Jerry Hunter" (Robert Vaughn) accompanies her to Acapulco so that she can recover both mentally and emotionally. While there she meets a man named "Paul Carter" (Stuart Whitman) who she believes is a murderous jewel thief intent on killing her and taking her jewelry. Now, considering the presence of accomplished actors like Robert Vaughn and Stuart Whitman one would think that their mere presence would be able to lift this film up from mediocrity. Sadly, that is not the case as this "made for television" movie fails to capitalize on their abilities. Fortunately, Barbara Eden manages to keep the film from completely crashing due to her beauty and charm. Even so, the lack of action and suspense is definitely noticeable and the final product suffers accordingly. Somewhat disappointing.